Brave New World
by Unitoftheline
Summary: In an alternate universe, new legends begin as the war against the darkness continues.
1. for those of you about to read this

Okay, so, Hello and welcome to my first attempt at a fanfiction. What had begun as random drabbles written with a friend has become something in its own right, and after some quality upgrades, I will begin posting it as I put it together coherently (or as coherently as possible in keeping with the story thus far). Also much of it is based on my interpretation of events in those games, if that isn't your interpretation, tough luck, I accept criticism, not BS, and you all should understand by now what that means.

So that being said. This will follow the story of my OC and friends in a alternate Kingdom Hearts universe, starting with 358/2 and culminating with my idea of what would be 'cool' for the third game, whenever that does come out. THERE WILL BE NO Gay-pairings (not trying to be derogatory). That also being said there are some pairings which will become apparent as the story progresses.

As a general rule bad things happen, usually to good people. I won't spend this entire thing ranting about how I interpret things working, it will either be apparent or explained as needed.

There will be many random crossovers (everything from Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon age II (still planning) and Bleach to a potential Deadspace skit (ohh scary) or if I'm in a bad enough mood Amnesia: the Dark Decent may be involved, most likely not.) so be prepared for random crossovers, and I mean random.

Also there will be a lot of sadness and confusion and anger moments, probably some extreme cruelty on the part of badguys.

And LET THERE BE GORE! Sorry if you don't like that but I don't like the idea of the 'keyblade master' really being the 'master of blunt force trauma' (seriously why call it a 'blade' at all if it aint sharp? I blame Disney for that one, at least they look more like swords in the newer games) now the gore level wont be anything extreme, but plan for usual anime level violence, maybe probably more depending on the current world/arc.

Also the story isn't really divided into worlds like the games, its more of an story-arc (think bleach, they travel back and forth, but the arc isn't over till something big happens) and on that issue, the Disney worlds will only make background appearances, and because my OC is the main character, at least for the first arc (dont worry the chapters will be named accordingly to clear it up) and I don't plan on him going to any of the standard Disney worlds, so there. Also as a kinda joke, play 'guess the easter egg' they should be kinda blatantly obvious when they pop up.

Also because 358/2 is incredibly monotonous, and due to problems with the character that will be explained later, it is very short, sorry but it is. Kinda hard to do a few month long KH2 let alone an entire YEAR of 358/2.

Now without further ado, on with the show!


	2. 358 Ch1

Disclaimer: everything is owned by those that care, now review if it so pleases you

one last thing, if it gets randomly dire or angry sounding at some points, blame Itunes, I listen to music while typing, so if you're curious about where it all comes from, I can tell you the song, just ask.

JULY 12. 2505

0800 HOURS, HAVEN MILITARY TIME, SUNRISE

PFC Damon Grey walked his part of the perimeter a kilometer outside planet Haven's largest settlement, a city by the same name, and idly watched the skies. He looked up at the stars as they slowly melted into the purple morning sky just as he did when he was younger. "Some things never change do they Damon?" His sergeant asked as he walked over, his heavy CMC-660 power suit clanking and leaving deep foot prints in the wet soil. Damon shifted the weight of the combat shield that was attached to the left shoulder of his smaller CMC-300 power suit and said "Yeah Sarge" "Grey, I've told you this before just call me Calebs, or preferably Armand, you're not in the regular marines anymore kid, all that protocol and shit's in the past" Armand said. Damon just stood there watching the skies, for him the skies held many things, his past home and family on long destroyed Mar Sara colony, the creatures that did it, lost friends from his short stint with the Dominion marines, and his always uncertain future. "What's up Damon, you act like someone shot yer dog." Armand said. Damon looked at the older man, but couldn't see his fact through the solid helmet of the firebat suit. "Sorry, just peaceful, almost like home used to be. Almost" Damon said quietly and resumed his vigil on the rapidly fading stars. "Okay Damon, time to get to work, had reports of some strange creatures in and around the woods near the farmsteads. Doc Hansen and Magistrate Anders gave the Colonel the order to send some scouts out to search the highways leading to the outlying farmsteads. The Colonel passed the order onto me and I choose you for backup." Armand said. "Okay, well I guess we should get a move on" the sixteen year old said and unlimbered his large C-14 guass rifle. "Read my mind, get this done with and get back here in time for lunch, heard its rib day at the barracks." Armand said. "Riiigghhtt…" Damon said sarcastically and started stomping down the two-lane highway that leads to the first of the farmsteads.

0850 HOURS

Armand and Damon arrived at the edge of the fields for the first farm and began looking around. "Notice anything out of place here Damon?" Armand asked as he covered Damon with his flamethrowers from the highways while Damon searched. "well, besides that fact that none of the farmers are out working…and that none of the automated machinery is even turned on.." Damon said then was quiet as the bent down to look at something. "Tracks….three toes, definitely not human, look to be lighter than a human too." Damon said. "How can you tell?" Armand asked as he took a closer look at the wood line and watched for any movement in the standing wheat field. "There's a boot print that looks to be from one of the farmers, its sunk'bout a half inch into the dirt, the three-toed ones are barely visible on top.  
>" Damon said and stood up to look around. Then the wheat off to Damon's left began to move. "Uhhh Sir? I got something moving down here..." Damon said and leveled his rifle before beginning to walk backwards to the highway. "DAMON GET YOUR ASS UP HERE, whatever it is get ready to cook it" Armand yelled over the comm., powered up his perdition flamethrowers and made ready to torch the field if whatever came out wasn't human. Then on a side note he sent a burst transmission to base to monitor the situation and be ready to send reinforcements, possible unknown contact made. Damon got half way up the hill before several dozen meter-tall black creatures burst from the wheat field. Damon ran backwards and opened fire with his C-14 and a pair of the creatures seemed to fly apart into a black mist. Damon got to the top of the rise as twin jets of super-heated plasma streamed at the unknowns and instantly the field was a blaze. "Damon, down the road!" Armand yelled and Damon turned to see a dozen more of the black things and several armored figures sprinting toward them. Damon went down to one knee and sprayed the new group as Armand hosed the first group. The heavy 8mm rifle spikes ripped into the attackers and three of the armored ones and a handful of the black ones flew apart before Damon had to slam a fresh magazine into the weapon. "Short bursts Damon, though you were in the corps!" Armand yelled and hosed a fresh wave, this time from the tree-line. "I was, never said they taught me to shoot strait!" Damon said and began taking down the attackers with three-round bursts as more came charging down the road. "I radioed for back-up, should be here any second Damon, just hold on!" Armand yelled and then turned as they heard a loud crack from the other tree-line on the opposite side of the highway. "RUN!" Armand yelled as a large three-story tall version of the armored ones burst from the tree-line and charged the two marines. Damon turned and began firing at the creature and started backing up. "DAMON RUN DAMNIT THAT AN ORDER!" Armand yelled as he backed up further down the highway, and then the creatures began to pour into the gap that began to form between the two marines. The yell shook Damon out of his tunnel-vision and he sprinted toward Armand, trampling several of the smaller creatures under his armored boots. They heard the scream of jets as a dropship rocketed in and landed behind them. A dozen marines and a marauder charged out of the ship and began firing into the mass of creatures. Damon went down to one knee as a part of the rifle-line and began firing into the crowd. Dozens of the creatures fell before they reached the rifle line, but then the creatures began to overrun the line. Damon turned as Armand ordered them to retreat into the dropship, but then the pilot panicked and the ship rocketed skyward, abandoning the marines to their fate. He didn't make it very far as several of a winged-variant of the armored creatures flew from the tree-line at the ship and began to throw some type of plasma or fire at the cockpit and engines. None of the hostile fire had much of an effect on the ship, but one of the armored figures being sucked into the engine intake did. The ship screamed out of control and slammed into the ground in a massive gout of flames, and the remaining flyers began to make bombing runs on the retreating marines. Damon kept firing into the mob until his rifle seized up, then he snatched a rifle off a fallen marine and kept shooting. Dozens more of the creatures 'blew-up' as the last marine besides Damon and Armand fell. The two marines kept falling back as more of the black abominations charged them. Damon looked to his left and saw a large armored creature, armed with twin arm-mounted swords like a protoss, charge out of the tree line to Armand's left. Damon lifted his rifle to fire, but the weapon clicked empty, Damon ditched the weapon and drew his revolver. Too late, the creature swung at Armand, cutting clean through the neo-steel plate that covered his left arm, severing it entirely. Damon began firing, but the rounds jut pinged off the creature's thicker armor. Armand went down in screaming agony and Damon put a round into the plasma tanks on Armand's back, then he used his friend's funeral pyre to escape. As he ran down the road he felt something impact his back, he turned to see several of the black creatures chasing him. He fired and blew one of them apart. Then one jumped and slashed the servos that powered his right leg. Damon smashed that one with a swing of his armored fist, and then he looked up to see the twin-sword armed creature charging towards him. Damon quickly reloaded his revolver and tried to smack the creature with his combat shield. It didn't work, the creature slice through the thick shield like tissue and then stabbed its sword into his side, cutting clean through the armor of the suit. The creature then threw him back and appeared to be waiting for something. Damon's suit shut down from its damage and he quickly hit the button to open the top and climbed out. As he climbed out the creature back handed him, throwing him several meters. Damon got back to his feet and drew his combat knife from its sheath and, completely without a plan, charged the creature. He rolled underneath one of the creature's swings and stabbed his knife into the creature's neck. The creature knocked him again, throwing him several yards away again. Damon looked at his knife in his right, and then back to the creature. "QUIT PLAYING YOU BASTARD! FINISH IT!" Damon yelled as he got fed up with the creature as it paced about, waiting for him to make his move. <em>Never give up<em> a voice in his head said. "I don't intend to" Damon replied and charged. As he jumped through the air to try for the creature's neck again, he perfectly expected to get a blade through his gut any time now. Then time seemed to move slower, and then there was a bright flash. Damon stood in a dark room with three pillars, each with a different object floating above its surface. "Am I Dead?" Damon asked aloud. _No, not yet_ a voice said. _You must choose your path Keyblader_ the voice said a second later. "Keyblader? Choose your path?" Damon asked. "Do you mean those things on the pillars?" Damon asked. _Yes_ the voice replied. "Ohh alright" Damon said and walked over to a pillar and grabbed the sword that floated above it. _The way of the warrior, invincible….are you listening?_ The voice asked as Damon looked at the sword. "ohh, yeah I was listening, is this one of those 'choose this and give up that' kinda thing?" Damon asked. _Yes, what do you give up?_ The voice asked politely. "Well could you give me a short idea of what each is? I mean the shield is obviously something to do with defense, but the staff…is that a star on top?" Damon asked. _ The staff determines you aptitude with magic and…_ the voice said but was cut off. "Okay, So the shield is defense and the staff-thing is magic…always thought magic was myth, but if it helps me kill these creatures.." Damon said but was cut off by the voice. _Heartless _the voice said. "ohh so they're called heartless, who knew? I didn't….well I'll choose to give up the shield" Damon said and then there was a flash and several of the creatures appeared around him. "Hey what gives?" Damon asked as one of the creatures charged and he cut it in half with the sword. _You need to learn to fight with your new abilities_ the voice said. "and I thought basic was tough!" Damon yelled and cut the last of the creatures apart "At least in basic they didn't through you in a pit with a bunch of zerg and a sword and say "have at em"" Damon said. _Good, you now know how to fight, beware keyblader the powers of Darkness are on the march_ the voice finished, and then Damon's vision reverted back to his original fight. Damon looked at the knife in his hand, and saw that it had changed into a long key-shaped sword, a half gear near the end of the broad-sword like weapon, a grey alloy loop the same color as his suit wrapped around its hilt, and a pair of dog tags hung from its pommel. Damon swung the sword and creature brought its arm up to block, but the sword cut through its arm. "Now it's even" Damon said with a smile and charged again at the wounded creature. Damon's attack destroyed the creature, but not before it could land a blow, he looked down and saw a large gash on the opposite side of his torso from where its first attack had left a cut. "Damn…" Damon said and stumbled back as blood leaked from his wound. He hit a tree and slid down as the darkness took him.

"Should we help him?" Xion asked her friend as they watched the other boy slip into unconsciousness. "I dunno…its not part of our mission, we really need to get to tracking down that guard armor that attacked them in the first place." Roxas said, hand on his chin as he wracked the options through his mind. "Well they also told us to gather information about this world, and well he's got a keyblade now, he dies and when we give our report the first thing Xemnas will ask is "Why did you not save this new keyblader he might have become a potential ally"" Xion said and Roxas laughed at her Xemnas impression. "what is true!" Xion said and cast a cure spell on the boy before saying "See, now we can go complete the mission and still try to get some information from him when we get back." Xion said. "Alright, but only if he's still here" Roxas said and led the way back into the woods.

1130 HOURS

Damon woke with a start and saw a marine leaning over him. "Hey Sarge, we got a live one over here!" the marine yelled and helped Damon to his feet. "Get him back to the walls, we only got a half hour before the first wave hits!" the man's Sergeant yelled and he picked Damon up in the arms of his suit and sprinted back to the Haven City walls. He sat Damon down in front of an irate looking man simply called The Colonel. "Private Grey, do you have any idea what attacked you out there?" The Colonel asked softly. "no Sir, they came out of the woods and fields, and swarmed over us like….like zerg sir…but they..they weren't…everyone's dead aren't they sir?" Damon asked. "Im sorry son, but yes. Now, get yourself to a position on the walls, grab a rifle and bunker down, we don't have time to get another suit warmed up so be careful Damon, Dismissed" The Colonel said and without another word Damon ran to the supply depot.

1200 HOURS

Damon stood in a set of light infantry armor behind a double mount triple-barreled machine gun turret, ready to take control of the turret as soon as the first wave came into sight. Then it began to rain. Damon sat behind a set of sand bags, cradling his rifle, the strange sword from earlier was gone, and he sat wondering if this sense of extreme foreboding and at the same time confidence was the way his father had felt the day Mar Sara fell, the day both he and Damon's mother died at the defenses. "No, I don't imagine it was…..they were both worried about me…" Damon whispered as the sirens began to go off. Damon jumped into his position behind the machinegun and began firing at the creatures. Seconds seemed to pass like hours as his rounds reaped a massive toll on the charging creatures. That combined with constant air-strikes by the colony's fifteen antiquated wraith fighters, rippling artillery fire from arclite siege tanks, and the hundreds of mines that had been sown around the gates since the Protoss had attacked a few months earlier to 'purify' the colony of zerg infestation destroyed hundreds of the creatures. Damon watched as the spinning gun barrels began to glow dark red, then a bright cherry color, and finally white before the gun stopped firing as the ammo ran out. Damon jumped down and grabbed a pair of new ammo canisters and hauled them over the gun. A few seconds later he was back behind the trigger blasting away at the creatures. The gun finally seized up a few seconds after that from the heat and quit. Damon jumped down again, leveled his rifle, and kept firing.

"Should we help?" Xion asked. "Nah, lets report this to the others, besides it would take more than just the two of us to take on that many anyways." Roxas said and opened a portal before stepping through.

"and that's it, when we left they were under attack from the heartless, looked like they might be able to hold until tomorrow, but not any longer." Roxas finished. "Very good, number XIII, we will tell you our decision later this evening." Xemnas said from the top of his throne. Roxas walked out and Saix looked up at him and asked "What should we do about this other keyblade wielder?" "I believe he would make a powerful ally given time..." Xemnas said and left it open to interpretation. "You believe that it is time to recruit a Number XV?" Saix asked. "No not yet, but I believe that even if we do not recruit him we should bring him into the fold, leave his heart intact…seems to be the perfect foot soldier for the cause if we can convince him to our side." Xemnas said. "Well he does seem to be devoted to defending his world. If we could promise him a way to keep the heartless from destroying his world in exchange for his services…he would be obligated to help up" Saix said then added "now only if we could keep the heartless from attacking his world, the last thing we need right now is an angry keyblader on our hands" Xemnas looked at him with a smile and said "Who do you think sent them there? I will just divert them away"

Next morning 0700 hours

The entirety of the remaining members of Organization XIII appeared on the shattered battlefield. They walked through the crumbled battlements. "Looks like we're too late" Xigbar said, sitting on a alloy-form, until it shifted and he realized it was dead man in some type of armor. "Ewww" he muttered as he tried to brush off some blood that clung to his backside from where he sat on the suit. "Yeah…...poor guys…looks like they never stood a chance" Demyx said as he looked at the large sections of wall that were blown open. "Look alive everyone, we may have a survivor" Luxord said and pointed to a figure that stood in a covered position at the top of a section of wall. They all watched as the figure shrank as if it was sitting down, and then they all made their way to the wall section. As they approached they heard the crackle of a radio, and they saw a ceramic helmet lying at the base of a set of steps where it fell. "Roxas, Xion, go up there and see if there are any survivors up there, the rest of you, spread out, search elsewhere, Saix, Xigbar, keep an eye on the field for more heartless" Xemnas said and the organization dispersed to their objectives.

Roxas stepped into the room at the top of the stairs, keyblade drawn, Xion doing the same standing right behind him. He heard a clinking as his foot hit a few of the thousand or so brass casings that littered the floor together. "is that him?" Xion asked, pointing to a figure that sat in the corner with his face in his hands. "I think so…" Roxas said looking at Xion. Then he looked back and gasped when he saw the boy aiming a rifle at him. "Who are you…" the boy asked, determined eyes lining up the rifle. "umm we're here to help?" Xion said in a half question. "Good." The boy said and fell sideways.

Xemnas turned to see Roxas and Xion carrying a third person between them as they approached. "here he is" Roxas said as he and Xion propped the boy against the wall. Xemnas looked at the boy and took in everything he would need to remember to recognize him later, a long scar on the right side of his face, buzzed blonde hair, and a claw-mark scar on his right arm. The boy woke and looked at Xemnas with ice-blue eyes before he asked "who are you?" "here to help, I am Xemnas of organization XIII" Xemnas answered in as tender a tone as he was capable of. "Good, thanks Sir" the boy said and gave him a curt salute. _Well that's never happened before, have to remember that for the next member meeting_, Xemnas thought as the boy became the first person to salute him…ever. With that Xemnas walked a short distance away as Saix ran towards him to tell him something.

"Whats your name" Xion asked politely. "Damon….Damon Grey" the boy said with and started coughing. "Well Damon what happened here?" Roxas asked, like he didn't already realize. "Creatures, some type of black creature they first attacked the walls directly yesterday, then this morning….they…they came up from underground, most of the town was in bunkers to the west by then but…I got left behind, cut off." Damon said then Xemnas walked back over. "Roxas, Xion go and help Saix and Xigbar there are more heartless coming" He said and then began to run out of the ruined town the assist in the coming battle. "Well we have to go" Roxas said and turned to go before Damon said "Im coming too." Roxas turned to see the other boy stand up and draw a large pistol from the holster on his hip. "Better than nothing" Damon said and began to follow Roxas and Xion as they ran to engage the heartless that were charging the walls.


	3. 358 Ch2

Disclamer: everything is obviously owned by those that do

Review please

Damon ran and saw several of the creatures charging towards him and several of Xemnas's black-coat wearing associates, then a variety of bladed weapons appeared in their hands. Then one of them ran up to Damon and said "ahh, looking for a little shooting contest?" "I guess" Damon said. "Good, always looking for a challenge, by the way im Xigbar" the man said and a pair of large purple handguns appeared in his hands. Damon sighted in on one of the creatures and squeezed the trigger. His revolver kicked hard like it always would when the round would sail true, and sure enough the creature blew apart from the impact. Damon repeated the process five more times then had to reload. Then he turned to see Xigbar ripple fire his handguns and the purple projectiles hit a dozen of the creatures, dead center in each of their heads, and then the disappeared. Damon rubbed his eyes and said "Headshots?" "You know it, tiger" Xigbar said and kept shooting. They continued their little contest until several of the heartless burst from the ground to Damon's left. He turned and said "now where's that special sword thing when I need it?" then there was a flash in his right hand and the sword from the day before appeared. "Awesome…" Damon said and cut down a pair of the creatures. A third one jumped and slashed at Damon, but he rolled to the side in time. He blasted that one with his revolver, and then he charged the next group. "look out kid" he heard behind him and then he looked up to see Xigbar jump over him and frag the next group with his pistols. "Nice shot" Damon said and looked around to see that there were no more hostiles. Then he looked back to see Xigbar staring at the sword he held in his hand. Then they all heard the scream of jets as reinforcements arrived from the other cities on the planet. The dropships formed a semi-circle near Damon and disgorged their marines. Damon sat down on the edge of a crater and looked as the marines formed up and two smaller, unarmored, figures stepped from one of the dropships. A black haired woman wearing a labcoat and glasses walked out and looked out over the blasted terrain with a slightly disturbed look in her eyes. The second figure, a tall man wearing a smart business suit, appeared apathetic to the destruction, and more interested in the black-robed figures that stood around.

Soon after they landed, Xemnas and the suited man, Magistrate Anders, began to have a heated argument about what happened to the town. The woman saw Damon and walked over to see if he was injured. "Are you alright?" she asked. "yeah im fine, been a LONG day." Damon said and stared at the Organization group as they stood and watched the woods for more heartless. She gave a little laugh then said "I'll bet it has" Then the magistrate, followed closely by Xemnas, walked over to Damon. "Okay, I have good news and bad news son." Anders said. "The good news is that Mr. Xemnas here has a way to keep those creatures from attacking the colony anymore and prevent more deaths." "And the bad news?" Damon asked. "Well the bad news depends on your outlook, you could either see it as bad or simply as a career change. I'll let Mr. Xemnas explain" Anders said and walked away a short distance with Ariel Hanson, the woman in the lab coat, in tow. "Damon the weapon you hold in your hand is a very powerful one known as the keyblade and quite simply it holds the salvation that me and others like me seek." Xemnas said. "He said something about you offering a career change and a way to keep the heartless away, what's the catch?" Damon asked. "Clever….the catch is that we need you and that sword you carry, you come with us and help us reach our goals and we keep Haven safe until we come up with a more permanent way to stop the heartless" Xemnas said. Damon looked over his shoulder at Xemnas and strait into his cold yellow eyes, Damon did not like the situation one bit, but there really was no choice, either be selfish and fight to the last against the heartless on Haven or help Xemnas and potentially end up a martyr for some cause that wasn't his own. Damon thought about it for a second and then said "What do you need me to do?" "Come with us and we will teach you all you need to know, I just need your loyalty to our cause which will be explained in time." Xemnas said. "Now wait one second, that's a looped deal. I go along with this right now and then find out I don't like what you're up to later you say 'well you already accepted' but if I don't and this world gets overran you say 'well you didn't even give me a chance to explain myself'…just tell me what you want an I'll give you a straight answer. If you really need me as much as you say I think you can give me that much" Damon said. Xemnas then explained what the heartless truly were and the concept of a Nobody. "Damn…that's awful…." Damon said and slumped his shoulders. "So your reply keyblader?" Xemnas asked. "i…I'll do it just keep this place safe, it's the closest thing I have to a home, but know this…if this place falls the deal's off." Damon said. "And the same is true if you fail to hold up your end Damon." Xemnas said. "Now gather your possessions and meet us back here in one hour" Xemnas continued.

Exactly one hour had passed when Xemnas saw Damon walking back towards him and his associates, carrying a military style duffel back, a spare dropbag was attached to snaps on each of his pant legs, and also he had changed from the body armor of earlier to a set of black urban camouflaged military fatigues. He wore a red beret with a silver chevron symbol on it and something about a Marine Corps and "honor, duty, discipline". "I'm ready, let's get to your ship before I change my mind about all this" Damon said. "Ship?" a blonde haired one with a sitar asked. "Yeah a ship. how else did you get here?" Damon asked getting annoyed. "like this" He said and a pitch black portal appeared near his hand. "great… as if things couldn't get weirder…well lets go" Damon said and walked through. "He complains a lot" Demyx said. "Yeah, must have something to do with being a Somebody." Roxas said. "Well he has had his entire world view turned upside down and thrown out the window in two afternoons" Luxord said and put his playing cards in a small pouch. "True…can't imagine what he's going through" Xion said. "Well with luck it won't be very long until you can, we got you two and now a third keyblader and if he's even half as capable as you guys are it shouldn't take long" Demyx said.

Damon walked through the portal and stepped out into a grey room with several couches and tables in it, and a panoramic view of a heart-shaped moon. "Whoa" Damon whispered as he looked out the window. Damon walked over to the large window and looked out over the dead looking city and what appeared to be the rest of the complex. Then Damon heard footsteps behind him. "Damon, welcome to what I hope will be a fruitful partnership. You will go with Roxas and Xion on their mission tomorrow to begin your training, be ready promptly tomorrow morning." Xemnas said then walked in down the hallway at the back of the room. Then the blonde one that had the sitar earlier walked up and said "Hi im Demyx, I'll show you to the one of the extra rooms" "Uhhh thanks?" Damon said and followed Demyx through the halls. Demyx stopped at a door and said "This'll work, we usually try to have breakfast by seven and be on the job by 8, don't be late or Saix'll be" then he was interrupted by a purple haired man standing behind him "Saix will be what?" Demyx turned around and raised his hands in front of his face as if to ward off a blow and said "uhh nothing Saix, just giving the new guy the rundown on the routine" "Yes, see that you do. And also see to it that you actually DO your missions Demyx." Saix said then walked down the hall. "uhh righto…" Demyx said and then turned to Damon and said "yeah, he can act like that sometimes, but you'll do fine." "Uhh thanks?" Damon said, still confused about everything. "Okay, goodnight." Demyx said then left. Damon walked into the room and then unpacked his bags; he placed his revolver under his pillow for safekeeping until he felt safe in his new environment, if that time ever came. Damon saw an alarm clock and set it for five am the next morning and then went to bed.


	4. 358 ch3

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0700 HOURS

Damon walked out of his room and down the monotone-grey corridor and shifted the weight of the black armor he'd "procured" from Haven's armory before he left. He looked down the corridor and then turned to walk to the room with the large window he'd seen the other day. Damon walked in and saw most of the people from yesterday sitting around on the couches eating their breakfast. One of them, Xigbar, looked up and said "Nice suit, going ninja on us?" "Nah, tried to pick something that would match, I don't exactly have a uniform." Damon said and took a seat in a chair opposite of him and looked at the other three that sat at the same table, Demyx and a blonde boy and girl close to Damon's age. "breakfast, kupo?" a voice said to Damon's right, he turned and saw a floating creature with a big nose wearing the same robe as the organization, but in this case it had the hood flipped back and was wearing a chef's hat. At first Damon thought it was either a hologram or a product of some sort of PTSD or dementia, but then he asked "Whats on the menu?" "Ehh (flips through a note pad) oatmeal, scrambled egg sandwich and bacon, or waffles and orange juice or milk to drink kupo" the creature replied courteously. "I'll take the oatmeal and orange juice" Damon said. "Be five minutes Kupo" the creature said and floated away. "So what exactly am I supposed to do? Today during the mission I mean?" Damon asked after a few minutes of awkward silence. "Well, you take that keyblade of yours and kill as many heartless as you come across, but only killing the emblem type will actually help us, but Roxas and Xion will tell you all about that won't you tiger? Poppet?" Xigbar said. "That's not my name…my name is Roxas" the blonde boy said, voice full of menace. "Ehh your just mipped that she gets the cooler nickname." Xigbar said then he went back to his food. The creature arrived with Damon's food and he began to eat. The rest of the meal was a long awkward, to Damon at least, silence. When he finished the purple haired man that chewed out Demyx the night before, Saix, walked over and said "Roxas, Xion, and Damon today you will be going to Twlight Town. Roxas and Xion you two will train and evaluate Damon. All of your overall objectives are and remain to destroy any heartless encountered until we give you the signal to return. Understood?" "Perfectly" Damon said and downed the last of his juice before standing up. "You ready to go?" the blonde boy asked "I'm Roxas by the way" "Yeah ready as I'll ever be, and you must be Xion then" Damon said and looked at the dark haired girl. "Yes" she said and raised her hand and a black portal appeared in front of her. "After you" she said and gestured for Damon to walk through.

Damon stood in the sandlot of twilight town, while Roxas and Xion stood a short distance away, arguing about the best ways to explain magic and limit breaks. "Okay, that'll work….worth a try anyway." Roxas said and scratched the back of his head slightly worried. "I thought you'd see if my way" Xion said with a innocent smile and then both of them walked over to Damon, who began to get worried as well. "Okay Damon, here's how it works, you have a keyblade like we do and so you should be able to use magic" Roxas said and brandished his, and Xion did the same with a quirky smile. "So you will have to find a technique that works for you to cast magic with…umm how about just trying to use your hands, Xion does that all the time?" Roxas asked. "Worth a try" Damon said and crouched to one knee as Xion sat up some bottles on a park bench a few meters away. Damon aimed his hand at the bottle and said "Okay what's next?" "Umm think fire….you'll probably have to say it, but that's usually the way it works for us….well for me anyways." Roxas said. Damon closed his left eye and aimed down his right arm and then said "FIRE!" but nothing happened. "FIRE" he yelled this time.

"FIRE!...FIRE!...fire…..FIRE?" then on the fourth time his said "okay something isn't working." "any ideas?" Roxas asked. "Well, I could try this?" Damon said and pulled his .50 caliber 'slugthrower' revolver from its holster. "Go for it" Xion said. Damon stood up and aimed the weapon then said "Wait..." and unloaded the revolver. "Yeah, fire and explosives, not a good idea" Xion said. Damon snapped the cylinder back into place and aimed again along the large weapon. "FIRE!" he said and suddenly a ball of fire erupted from the end of the weapon and sailed through a brief flight before it vaporized the plastic bottle and left a scorch mark on the stone bench. "Okay again" Roxas said. Damon did it three more times and then said "okay I think I got the hang of it." "Okay now to explain the limit break…..ummmmm Xion any ideas?" Roxas asked. "Ummmm well…..you have to be on your last legs, and then you can call on the full extent of your powers" Xion said and walked over. "Last legs? Full extent, what?" Damon asked confused. "Just trust me" Xion said and walked over and nonchalantly kicked Damon between the legs. "Da…mn" Damon said and doubled over before falling to the ground. "You enjoyed that didn't you?" Roxas asked. "Welll…ummm" Xion stuttered, and then Damon very slowly got back to his feet and covered a tender area with his free hand to prevent another kick. "Hmmm…didn't work" Xion said. "Have to try something else I guess." Roxas said. Damon stood there, still doubled over, glaring at the both of them. Then a few meters away a small group of heartless appeared. Roxas and Xion both summoned their keyblades then they noticed that Damon was standing up strait and holding his pistol one handed. He looked at the pistol as it started glowing before he let fifteen ice-bullets rip from the weapon with enough force to destroy several of the heartless. Then he charged and summoned his keyblade. He moved with super-human speed for several seconds, then as the last heartless fell he came to a stop and realized what he'd done.

He stood awestruck for a few seconds then said "Did I do that?" "Yes, now that you seem to have some understanding of what you're capable of lets go get some heartless, we still got a few hours before we need to head back" Roxas said. "So what do we do? Split up? What?" Damon asked. "Good question its usually just the two of us or one and our friend Axel, never been three of us, and we've never had to keep an eye on the other before." Xion said. "Hmmm….lets just stay together, get this done, stay safe, and we can make sure you don't get in over your head Damon" Roxas said. "Thanks, well lead on" Damon said.

Hours later

Damon swung his keyblade and killed the last heartless, a soldier type, and then said "Well that's the last one, whats next?" "Well, you can head back, we got a few things we need to take care of." Roxas said and summoned a portal. "Uhh alrighty then, you need to show me how do make those portals some time." Damon said and walked through. Roxas and Xion then looked at each other and went for ice-cream.

Evening

Damon sat in the big room (referred to as the common area from now on) and read a manual about sword fighting while Luxord, Demyx, and Xigbar played cards. Damon had tried playing cards, but everyone quickly decided that it was for the best that the one person who actually had emotions and had to struggle to keep a good poker face to not play against others who didn't have the same handicap. That fact aside did not mean that Damon wasn't interested, he'd played cards a lot with other marines aboard ship and in barracks during and after training, but it just seemed that after the first two games the dabbling poker games over their paychecks that he'd played before hadn't helped him at all. "So, Damon, what were you doing before you got here?" Demyx asked. "What do you mean?" Damon asked. "Well you were behind that gun on that wall, what were you doing up there, you're just a kid" Demyx said. "I am, was….err…used to be a soldier. I was in the Dominion Marine Corps." Damon said "I left the marines after a couple years, really wasn't the way I wanted to spend the rest of my life….wasn't the way I wanted to die either. I resigned and joined the militia on Haven, part time and they were willing to help me pay for an education. Got me an engineering certification." Damon said. "So you're good with machines?" Xigbar asked and upped the bet before laying out a winning hand. "Decent. Can fix most of the machinery they used on the colony there, all simple stuff really, and of course the military stuff." Damon said and then looked over his shoulder as Roxas and Xion walked through a portal.

"Hey guys" Damon said. "Hi" both of them said at once and then headed down the hall to their rooms. When they were out of earshot Damon asked "Whats their deal?" "What do you mean?" Luxord asked. "Well first as part of their instruction, Xion kicked me somewhere she ought not to. And then it seemed that neither of them could get their act together for a plan without the other to hold their hand. And then they had 'things to take care of' when we finished up and they sent me back." Damon said. "Dunno, and she kicked you…never mind. Forget I said anything." Xigbar said. "okay one last question and please forget I asked if it sounds stupid, but are those two dating or something?" Damon asked. All three of the organization members began laughing. "What, what did I say?" Damon asked frantically. "ahh its nothing, they just go hang out on the clock tower in Twilight town, who knows maybe their somebodies were from around there. Probably has some kinda sentimental value for them." Demyx said as he kept laughing. "but if that's all, why all the secrecy?" Damon asked. "well just what they do, when their friend Axel was here he'd usually go with them, so unless they started something recently, no they are definitely not dating, and besides what would they get from it? We're Nobodies no emotions remember? Not like we'd get any emotional attraction or anything out of it" Demyx said and then put his cards down before saying "Im done, all im doing is losing" When Demyx looked up he noticed that Damon had literally buried himself in the book he was reading. "Something wrong?" Demyx asked and began strumming his sitar. Damon peered above the book and said "Nothing, just kinda embarrassed." "Ehh think nothing of it m'boy no blood, no bruises, and well…heh no hurt feelings" Luxord said and played his hand. Xigbar just threw up his hands and walked away. "Well there goes the last of my entertainment for the night, good night all" Luxord said and went his way.

Three months later

Damon stared into the mirror of his small bathroom, his horrified expression twisting the already startling changes in his appearance. His eyes were shot through with unsettling brass-colored vein-like streaks, and he noticed that the roots of his hair were changing color, nothing really discernible yet, but they were definitely a few shades off what the rest of his hair was, a few shades darker, not brown, but nearly black against the scalp. Roxas had pointed out that he was acting more, violent, when fighting heartless on missions, like he relished the chance at combat, and recently they had all asked him why he never seemed, relaxed, like he did when they would finish a mission during his first few weeks. Damon had no clue, and now he'd begun noticing physical changes as well as the glaringly obvious mental ones. He could barely keep his anger in check most days recently, and even his friends were nothing but noise when he got to fighting. Even now, the anger was barely below the surface, waiting for the slightest break in his concentration that subdued it to break out. Then a knock came at the door.

"You alright Dee?" Axel asked, seemingly genuine concern in his voice, as Damon opened the door to his room. "It's getting worse Axel, whatever 'it' is it's getting worse..." Damon said and let Axel in before closing the door again. "Any ideas about what it is?" Axel asked and sat in one of the chairs while Damon sat on his bed. "No...I've checked every medical journal I can find on the 'net', nothing explains this and the anger issues" Damon said somberly. "what about puber..." Axel started but stopped, both scared and surprised, at the death glare Damon was throwing his direction. "Axel, I am sixteen years old, I am sure I have already gone through that, besides, I used the scanner in my med-kit, this, whatever 'it' is, it isn't explainable by Dominion science" Damon said, visibly reigning his anger back under a tight leash. "It read clean?" Axel asked. "According to the scanner, I'm a perfectly healthy teenage male human with some prior injuries and a couple pieces of shrapnel in the side of my face" Damon said and traced the scar the emphasize his point. Then another knock came at the door before Axel could answer. "I got it" Damon said and opened the door.

"How's it going Dee?" Roxas asked when Damon opened the door. "Come on in, Axel can explain" Damon said and let his friend in before returning the door to its position. Axel explained what they had talked about, then Roxas asked "Well, what does it mean?" "No idea, like he said, its not in or recorded in the medical databases he could access, and his scanner read all-clear" Axel said and put his hand to his chin, thinking. Roxas rocked back slightly in his chair also and stared at the ceiling, also lost in thought. "Well...on a side note, something I've been meaning to ask" Damon said. "Okay, Dee, shoot" Axel said and looked up at his friend. "When do I get one of the coats? I mean what's so special about it? I mean I asked the Moogle if I could buy one, you know, to match, it is a uniform right?" Damon asked. "Yeah its a uniform, what about it?" Roxas asked. "Well he said I couldn't just buy one, not even from him, he just said that 'when I was ready, the superior would issue one'" Damon answered "What's the big deal? It's just a coat isn't it?" he asked next. Roxas didn't have an answer for that, instead he turned to Axel, who was still lost in thought, "Axel?" he asked. "the coats are supposed to help shield you from the dark...SHIT!" Axel yelled and got to his feet quickly. "Why the hell haven't they given you a coat dammit!" Axel shouted. "You're a Somebody, you're vulnerable to that stuff! that's probably what all the changes are!" Axel continued. "Okay, after your mission today Dee, I'm gonna give Saix a piece of my mind over this, I have no clue what kinda sense it makes to...SHIT!" he shouted again. "What?" Damon asked, scared already by the first revelation, not sure what to think of more bad news. Axel just shook his head then said "Dee, don't get mad, and I honestly don't know if this is why, but the... the only reason I can think they would let the darkness get to you like this is to either A: turn you into a heartless, and leave your Nobody to be a 'full' organization member or B: they want you out of the way for some reason, and the same applies"

Roxas watched curiously as Damon visibly held back what he called 'anger' it. Roxas felt something too, he just wanted to break something, the thought that they'd been betrayed by the superior and likely Saix and other organization members, well it just didn't 'feel' good, but whatever Damon was holding back seemed to be far more violent due to both his having a heart, and what they now understood as encroaching darkness. "Now Dee, I don't know if that's it, but...we just don't know, I'll ask later about getting you a coat, if nothing else. We don't need to jump to conclusions, especially with people as powerful as Saix and Xemnas are, we can't afford to go against them, and we all know what they could hold over you if they wanted to" Axel said quietly. Roxas watched as Damon's expression devolved and morphed into, well he honestly couldn't tell, it wasn't one of the emotions that Axel had explained yet, he just looked, broken, like everything was so wrong that it couldn't go back to normal. Then a knock came at the door. "Now what?" Damon snarled. "I got it" Axel said and heard a click behind him. He looked and saw Damon checking the cylinder on his revolver, checking the load, before he clicked it back into place, and placed it and his hand under the pillow next to him. Axel opened to door to see Demyx and Xion standing in the hallway. "Is Dee alright? You guys have been in here a while, and um... Saix wanted to know if he's sick or something." Demyx stuttered, trying to hide some modicum of concern behind the excuse. "Come in" Axel said and led them in. The door slid shut again, and this time it was Roxas' turn to retell the conversation.

"But, why would they do that? I mean, yeah Saix is a jerk, and Xemnas isn't exactly the warmth of human kindness (Axel throws him a disapproving glance), but why? What could they stand to gain?" Demyx asked, his eyes darting between his gathered friends. "Everything, nothing, who the hell knows...all I know is...I don't even know anymore." Damon said and sulked. "You're awfully quite Xion" Axel said. "What can we do? I mean for Dee, if they come up with some excuse about the coat thing and all. I mean, he can either run for it and have Haven destroyed, deal with it and risk...risk becoming one of us, or we can try to find a different way, but if they don't want him getting one of the coats...its kinda obvious that they know, so wouldn't they get suspicious if the changes suddenly stop?" she asked in a quiet voice that was full of far more sadness than she had ever actually 'felt'. Sometimes it was hard for Damon to distinguish them as not well...not-not being human, but not having a heart to feel with, it, it was just too easy sometimes to accept them as normal people caught in the same bad situation as him, not semi-willing members if a secret cabal that seemed bent to the goals if its scheming leader.

"If me being a Nobody is what they truly want... and they decide to let this go through to its final conclusion...there isn't a whole lot we CAN do...I'll accept it if I have to, to keep you guys out of the line of fire" Damon said, anger barely veneered behind his blue and brass-colored gaze. The implications weren't lost on any of his friends. "well Xemnas said we'd get hearts of our own when we complete Kingdom Hearts" Demyx said, trying to add a different facet to it. "you honestly believe him? He plays for power Demyx, you've see it. Are any of us anymore than pawns in his game? Important ones because of the our abilities and the keyblades, but nothing more. No, I suspect the moment he gets his kingdom hearts, we go from 'ally and comrade' to 'liability' in the same sentence" Damon said angrily. "and besides, he has us kill strong heartless, strong people generally have strong hearts, and Dee, you are one of the strongest people I know, and you're a Somebody...what would you bet that ten minutes after you were turned that he'd have us hunting your heartless?" Roxas muttered, leaving the tension to grow by the second. "Soo, what do we do then, this is bigger than just you then Dee" Demyx said. "All we can do is try playing the loyal pawns for as long as possible, then try getting out of the way as far and as fast as we can when Xemnas shows his true colors...If I'm wrong, and I hope I am for all your sakes, then we can go from there, but if I'm right, we need to be ready to take him down ourselves, then we can get you guys the hearts you need" Damon said. "Thank you Dee" Axel said. "Yes, thank you, I know this can't...feel...good, but I hope we'll be able to know what it's like sooner or later" Xion said, Roxas nodded in silent agreement, and Demyx said "I don't know where I'd be without you guys" "Playing bad country knock-offs of classic rock in a bar somewhere, likely making millions off it?" Damon suggested and everyone began laughing for the first time in a while.


	5. 358 ch4

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my pride

The group left their 'meeting' without another word and entered the common area. "Ahh, so the party is over is it?" Xigbar chided as they walked in, a disappointed looking Saix standing near where he usually stood to pass out assignments. "Regardless of what you each may think, you are each going to different worlds today, and I expect these assignments to be completed, Demyx." Saix said and passed out small sheets of paper with the names of worlds on them and their objectives. Damon, who was now wearing his combat armor, slid the paper into a spare pocket, and as usual, Saix opened the portal to his destination, he would be able to find his way back afterward by retracing the portal, assuming he didn't take too long. "See you all" Damon said, feigning a smile as he walked towards the portal, which was exactly the last thing he wanted to do. "Yeah, be careful Dee" Axel said, Roxas, Xion, and Demyx had already left for their assignments. Damon stepped through the portal.

Damon writhed in pain for a few minutes after he exited the portal, he could usually resist the pain, but this time it was especially intense. The pain kept growing and growing, until he could barely stifle back the scream, and then as he tried to force himself to get back up, he collapsed. Then he could barely register voices nearby, and he lost consciousness.

Garret Hawke drew his massive, Ferelden great-sword, while Aveline flanked left, and Varric drew his crossbow and flanked right, Bethany stood back, ready to blast whatever the figure was with any number of spells. "What is it Varric?" he asked as he took a tighter grip on his sword. "It's a boy, Hawke. A human boy, 17 at most." the dwarf said and Hawke began to walk over. "wait" Varric said and raised his hand for his friend to stop. "What?" Hawke asked. "He's waking up" Varric said.

He'd been found out, Damon realized in horror as he lay there in the cold mud. He was never to be seen, get in, finish the mission, get out. He didn't know what would happen when he returned, but he felt an inexplicable sense of dread at having disobeyed. 'get a grip man, get over it, get a move on' a voice said in his mind. Damon suddenly pushed him self up, kicked his feet to get a start, and bolted through the trees, hoping to avoid a fight or worse, a pursuit.

"Woah" Varric yelled as he was nearly knocked down by the boy's sudden flight. "After him" Hawke ordered and they began a pursuit. Varric worked the pump action on his crossbow, Bianca, and aimed as he ran. "Do you have a shot Varric?" Hawke asked as he ran, wanting to stop the boy by any means to get some answers, in Kirkwall only the guilty ran that fast, the boy had done something, and Hawke was eager to find out. "Gimme a sec Hawke, he's fast!" Varric shouted back as he aimed.

Damon lurched forward as a bolt pinged off his back plate, another made a divot in his left shoulder pauldron, and a third made a hole for itself in the ammo bag on his right leg. He knew he was running out of options if he was going to evade them, so he decided, reluctantly, to try a tactical dark corridor to escape. There was a ravine up ahead, he'd jump and summon the corridor on the way down, with luck he'd hit it and go through.

"There should be a ravine up ahead Hawke, he can't go much further" Varric chimed as he reloaded Bianca. "I know, but something doesn't feel right" Hawke replied as he continued the pursuit. Then with the ravine in sight in front of the boy they began to slow down, but the boy didn't. "What's he doing, he must see the ravine!" Aveline shouted. Then the boy jumped, went spread eagle, and plummeted.

Damon fell over the cliff and summoned a dark corridor on the canyon floor below, now it was just a matter of aiming. He adjusted himself in mid-flight and was lucky, he went through the corridor.

"Where did he go!" Hawke yelled as he looked out over the ravine where the boy should have fallen, but there was nothing, certainly no body. "No idea, can mages just disappear like that Bethany?" Varric asked. "No, at least not with any magic I know, but it would explain why he was running if he WAS an apostate." Bethany, Hawke's sister, answered as she placed her staff back on the strap across her back. "Why do I get the feeling that this isn't the last we will be seeing of that boy?" Aveline asked aloud. "Providence or prophesy?" Varric asked as he put the Bianca's safety back on and the crossbow's limbs retracted back down its length, and he replaced it on his back. "I personally hope neither, had enough dealings with strange mages for one lifetime" Hawke said. "HEY!" Bethany shouted angrily. "I think he meant Merril and the 'witch of the wilds' Bethany" Aveline said. "Grr...True..." Bethany said as they returned to their path and it began to rain slightly.

That evening

"Hey, Axel, you seen Dee anywhere?" Roxas asked as he sat down at one of the tables in the common area, across from the redhead. "No, I haven't, but I did ask about his coat, said it was some big oversight thing, and that they're gonna bring him in as XV when he gets back" Axel said half sarcastically. "well I'm gonna go ask Saix if he's seen him" Roxas said.

"What do you mean he hasn't gotten back?" Roxas asked incredulously. "Exactly what I said XIII, he has not returned, you, Axel, and XIV are to go to the world he went to, finish his mission, and if possible, to return him to us" Saix said. "Is he going to be punished or something? He might have just hit some trouble" Roxas said. "Be that as it may, if he was unable to return, nothing will come to it, but if he is unwilling to return, you are to use force to bring him back, XIII" Saix said. "Okay" Roxas said and walked away.

Hour later

"what do you plan, Superior?" Saix asked "Axel, XIII, and XIV suspect if they do not already know what you plan to do with Mr Grey." "I already explained to Axel when he asked me personally on the subject, give him the coat and bring him into the fold as number XV, for now" Xemnas said, eyes already hatching more plans. "But what of the experiment? He seems to be beginning to resist orders the farther into darkness he falls, should I increase the dosage? And if the security recordings are to be believed he may actually be beginning to plot against us" Saix said as he watched his master's gaze. "No, I believe the experiment has come as far as it can without incurring more suspicion from our more...important...members, we still need them, or their keyblades more accurately, for now at least. Leave him as intact as possible." Xemnas said. "And what if he breaks the programing? Begins to remember what he actually is?" Saix asked. "If his magistrate was to be believed, Neural Resocialization will break down eventually anyways, and we do not have the equipment to add another layer to his mind. So we will do nothing, if he remembers and the drugs loose their effect, then so be it, destroy the evidence, stop the memory drugs entirely, let him remember. We will not be his enemy in any case, he may even feel indebted to us for allowing him to return to 'himself'" Xemnas explained, the wheels in his mind visibly turning. "Very well, Superior" Saix said, opened a corridor, and left his chair in the meeting room. "All according to plan, either he falls and adds to my kingdom a servant and a heart, or he becomes a fitting apprentice for my return" Xemnas said.

Next Day, free-march woodlands

Damon woke slowly, he was laying in a clearing on a mountain side and his chest was killing him. "That was a bad idea" he commented about his plan to use the dark corridor to try escaping. 'more than you know' the voice in his mind said quietly, almost sounding sad. "and now I'm going nuts, talking to myself, AND hearing voices" Damon said and shook his head as he got up. Apparently he'd been outside all night and it had rained, his armor-liner was soaked through and he was freezing. He checked his equipment bags and pulled out their contents. He found a spare liner for his armor, a cotton-type shirt and long pants (think somewhere between jogging pants and long underwear), and changed. He snapped the plates back into place and put the soaked liner back in his bag (inside a plastic bag, which was the reason the spare wasn't wet also). He began putting the bags' contents back in place, potions, ammunition for his revolver, and...a picture. He didn't remember the picture, he looked at it and knew that he should remember the people in it, but something didn't add up. The people looked like his parents, but one, his mother, wore a lab-coat and the other, the man that looked like his father, wore a civilian technician's outfit, loose leather clothing and various safety equipment. But he distinctly remembered them in military uniforms in that very same photograph, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he hadn't actually LOOKED at the photo, he just saw their faces, and his mind filled in the rest as it saw fit. "why aren't you home? Why did you leave? Why did you leave Midgard?" the voice in his mind asked. 'midgard' he thought in his mind, he knew of the planet, never been there before, but apparently whatever was speaking in his mind thought otherwise. He began to walk, he still had a heartless to hunt down and data to gather about this world, but while he walked, he couldn't bring himself to put the picture away, he just kept staring at it as he walked.

Few hours later

Roxas exited the dark corridor, Xion and Axel close behind. "Kinda desolate aint it?" Axel asked. "Yeah, hope the whole world isn't like this or we might never find Dee" Roxas said as he began looking around. "Uhh guys?" Xion asked, they turned, and she pointed to what looked like signs of a struggle in the partially dried mud. They saw boot prints leading away from the site, with at least four others following. "He was ambushed?" Xion asked worriedly and summoned her keyblade. "Looks like, lets see where this leads" Axel said and summoned his chakrams. Roxas pulled his keyblade and followed as Axel lead the way. After a twenty minute trek through the woods they found a ravine, the tracks ended there. "Is he...?" Xion asked glumly, hoping as best she could that her newest friend wasn't dead or worse. "No, there's no way, Dee's resourceful, he'd have done something to survive this" Roxas said, then turned to Axel. "Do you think he used a corridor to, I dunno, jump a short distance away, evade whoever was chasing him?" he asked. "I dunno, would be something I'd do" Axel answered. "but then there's no telling where he is" Xion said. Then they heard foot steps back on the broken cobble-stone of the road/path back the way they came. They returned to the road and hid in the trees, and oddly enough, they saw a very distracted looking Damon, staring at a piece of paper, no a photo, as he walked back to where the return-corridor should be.

Then they stood up and walked over. "hey Dee you alright?" Axel asked, then noticed that something wasn't right, his hair had changed, now black as the night-sky, and the brass-streaks on his eyes had turned to a pair of solid gold-colored rings. Roxas and Xion jerked back visibly when they noticed the changes, and both not quite raised their keyblades into guard positions. Damon looked up, an utterly confused expression on his face, and Axel began to fear, a relative term for someone who couldn't 'feel', the worst.

"Is something wrong guys?" Damon asked, the worry in his voice genuine as he looked at their weapons. "You were gone, you never checked back in, Saix sent us to look for you, he thought you...you might have lost yourself" Xion said and put away her blade. "But what's with the ..forgive me...'shocked' looks, is there something on my face?" Damon asked, Axel noticing how he tried to stealthily put away the picture he held in his left hand and the hand not quite resting on the butt of his revolver.

As much expression as they could read on Damon's face told them everything, something HAD happened, something that was slowly sinking in, shaking him to his core. "Dee, calm down, we're not here to hurt you, did you finish your mission?" Axel asked, simulating as much kindness as possible. "Yeah, but what's up? All three of you look like you've seen a ghost, sorry about worrying you if that's it, I, well something did happen, I'll explain back at the castle" Damon said and summoned a corridor, and they left to get some questions answered.

Back at the Castle

This time, Damon noted, the transition didn't bother him for some reason, just a tingle then he was fine. It was a 180 degree turn from the intense pain of the day before and even the slight burning sensation that he'd noticed after his first few missions. That didn't bother him as much as the surprised looks Luxord, Xigbar, Demyx, Saix, and even Xemnas, who had been talking to Xigbar, were throwing his direction. "What, is something wrong?" Damon asked, clueless, and slightly angry. "How did the mission go Damon?" Saix asked. "I got the heartless, and here's the recon data" Damon said and passed him a memory chip from his data-pad. Saix simply nodded and left to go over the data. No body was saying anything so he turned and walked to his room.

When he got to he door he turned and saw his friends standing there, expectant and worried looks. They didn't ask and he didn't answer, they just followed him into his room. Damon sat on the bed, Roxas and Axel pulled up chairs like the day before, Xion somehow managed to sit on the dresser, Damon wasn't sure why she didn't sit on the other end of the bed, and Demyx just sat cross-legged in the floor to Axel's right. Damon then began to explain what had happened and all the strange things he was noticing about what he remembered.

Meeting room, same time

"It appears that the experiment may have borne fruit, Superior" Saix said. "I noticed, all he needed was a little prod in the right direction and it appears that his own darkness has released itself. Have you told him?" Xemnas asked. "No, not yet, but I will relay the news to him, and by extension the rest of his friends, this afternoon" Saix said. "What news?" Xigbar asked, he'd been patient so far. "He will be named number: XV" Xemnas said. "but he still has a heart, unless I've missed something" Xigbar said. "it matters not, it is more to ensure the loyalty of our resident keybladers, according to Saix, they have been plotting, they no longer fully trust us, this is merely a ploy to bring them back firmly into the fold, for now" Xemnas said. "Alright, any news on the imposter?" Xigbar asked. "He's been sighted in Twilight Town, I am sending XIV to deal with him tomorrow" Saix said grimly.

~day 172~

"what happened to Xion?" Roxas asked as Axel carried the unconscious girl into her room. "She failed her mission XIII" Saix said from behind him. Roxas turned, startled, and saw that Saix was carrying a spare organization 'uniform' (the coat plus the black pants, shirt, and shoes). Then Damon came running down the hall. "What happened to Xion?" he asked urgently. "She engaged the imposter in combat and failed, XV" Saix said calmly. "Are we going after him?...wait...what did you call me?" Damon asked, anger flashing in his oddly colored eyes. "You are now the fifteenth member of the organization, here is your uniform" Saix said and passed Damon the cloak. "and you will not pursue the imposter yet" Saix said. "Don't worry guys, I'm sure she's fine" Demyx said idly as he walked to his room. "Yeah...right, talk later guys?" Damon said. "yeah" Axel and Roxas said as Damon left, carrying his new clothes.

Next day

It scared Damon how, natural, it felt to wear the organization cloak and garb. He stood, looking at himself in the mirror, and besides the few additions he'd made to the uniform, the leg ammo bags (think like sora's hip-bag things, only more military-surplus, or even like the things Cole in 'gears of war' wears on his thighs) and the chest plate from his armor. The whole get-up, combined with his new black hair and quite frankly disturbing looking eyes gave him an almost menacing appearance, that combined with the angular effect of the armor plate under the open coat, with the hood up he didn't look completely human. He could feel something in the back of his mind, whatever the voice he had heard lately, give what was almost a sigh of disapproval. "well" he thought as he checked the holster for his revolver and zipped up the coat. "I still have a mission to do, then some hunting" He, Axel, and Roxas had decided to hunting for the imposter in their spare time after missions, until Xion woke up if nothing else, they wouldn't let anyone hurt their friend.

But, something doesn't feel right about disobeying Saix's orders, he thought as he walked down the hallway. 'get a grip man' the voice, that had been quiet since he'd gotten back, snarled in his mind. 'are you their pet? I'd sure hope not. If they aren't going to put that guy in the ground, you should, he HURT Xion, put him down' the voice said and was quiet again. He steeled himself for what he had to do, the voice was right, he was his own person, orders be damned.

Three hours later

Damon cut down the heartless as it ran through the alley of the small town, and then, his current task finished, bounced his way up the alley-walls and stood on top of the building, scanning for more heartless, so far it had been light pickings, not enough to fill his quota for today, well it was night on this world. He was in a city on the world he'd visited couple days before hand. He watched as a group in another part of the city fought several bandits, a couple of Dusks running recon of the city fluttered as they usually did on their rounds, and it was largely a quiet night in what seemed to be a pretty run-down and primitive, medieval technology at most, city. The battle between the group and the bandits heated up, at least a dozen more of the mercenary looking raiders had joined the fight.

He couldn't see anymore heartless, and so far the raiders, whoever they were, were a persistent bunch, they'd lost 15-20 people, but were still bringing more, so he decided to help, at least at a distance. He jumped along roof tops until he was near to their position. He drew his revolver, it was only fifty yards to the furthest bandit, once he opened fire, they'd know exactly where he was, but he left his hood on as he lined up the sights on the furthest bandit. 'doesn't this bother you? Even a little bit?' the voice in his mind asked. 'I do what I must' Damon replied, why he wasn't sure yet. 'But why? Do you have to make yourself involved? You do have a mission, or are you not worried about orders now?' the voice asked, now annoying Damon because it was skewing his aim, it felt almost like there was someone else staring through his eyes at the sights as well. 'it's the right thing to do, look I don't know who the hell you are, but let me do what I need to, saix can go screw himself, I know what I'm doing' Damon snapped at the voice. 'Progress, and my name's Aedan, we'll talk more later' the voice said, and to Damon it felt like the presence receded to allow him to fight. He re-aimed on his target, which had moved a few meters to the left, and let fly.

Hawke watched confused as the chest of the merc to his right suddenly erupted in a small fountain of gore, the man collapsed like a stone. Then he noticed a loud bang as another merc fell, a third, a fourth went down screaming as his right arm burst at the elbow, then he was silent as a fifth bang silenced him forever. Then a couple seconds later, as he fought another coterie merc, the head of his opponent exploded like an overripe melon. Then the last merc fell to a ice-blast from Bethany. "What was that? They explody thing, new spell Bethany?" Varric asked. "HAWKE! We have company!" Aveline yelled. Hawke turned to see her pointing at the roof, he watched as the black-robed figure performed a series of inhuman jumps that quickly put it at the end of the block and out of reach. "Hawke? What's this?" Varric asked and showed him 6 small brass cylinders, open at one end, slightly warm, and reeking of sulfur. "Smells almost like the explosives the Quinari use" Aveline commented, her duties as captain of the guard often kept her down in the area around the Quinari compound to keep the civilians from attacking the very powerful 'foreign invaders'. "We'll ask the Arishok tomorrow" Hawke said and took the casings.


End file.
